First and foremost, my dream and career goals have always been centered on being an ally to the Deaf community since I began learning sign language almost a decade ago. My college career has focused on ASL, Deaf culture, the Deaf community and their history. I feel at home and at ease in this space. My goal for this program is to gain new skills as a teacher while continuing to learn from the vibrant Deaf community of America. Even though a majority of my work experience from the last five years is in early childhood education, I only recently (within the year) decided to pursue a teaching credential. I love my job as a D/HH para educator but I want to take on a larger role in these kids lives. It is my opinion that Deaf education is misunderstood …show more content…
The CSUN campus was amazing. I was able to expand my knowledge of topics that interested me like Deaf literature, Deaf history, ASL linguistics, etc. In addition, I was offered positive Deaf spaces, I was able to meet new and diverse people (teachers, students and other faculty) and I could attend fantastic workshops with speakers that talked about unique subjects such as international sign language, the Deaf Art Movement and the Deaf community in Europe during WWII. Aside from the Deaf Studies program, I was allowed to explore other areas that have always interested me and added to my education. This was becoming a part of the Jewish Studies program. That experience resulted in a scholarship, an internship at a Jewish Community preschool and a trip to Poland. What made CSUN unique was not only the opportunities it gave me as a student but that the Deaf Studies program focused on education in culture. This meant explaining and exploring intersectionality between communities, understanding privilege and how people can identify themselves in this world. I can’t imagine receiving these experiences anywhere …show more content…
I focused on education because that is where I felt most qualified and because I enjoyed the idea of working with young children everyday. I was able to find employment in the Mountain Empire Unified School District working as a D/HH teacher’s aid and I work there to this day. Recently, I applied into the San Diego Mesa College Interpreting program. I started out with two classes and decided to see how the semester would go and if I would want to continue or pursue my masters in Deaf Education. Both career options were important to me but as a working single mother, I believed that the best option for me would present itself later on. I enjoyed being back in school and what the courses had to offer but was frustrated with the structure of the program. I felt that with the many things going on in my life, that it was not the path I wanted to take at the time. Becoming a teacher and furthering my career as an educator seemed more appealing and more rewarding to me. In time, the choice was clear. I wanted to become a
A challenge is nothing more than an obstacle that lies in one's path. I have had my fair share of such obstacles The main one has been my deafness. Many people consider deafness a disabilitya handicap that leads to problems or failure. I am proof that this stereotype is false. I was raised with the awareness that a person in my position can either be a "deaf person" or a person who happens to have a problem hearing. I chose to be the latter.
Deaf Culture is often misunderstood because the hearing world thinks of deafness as a handicap. The Deaf are not given enough credit for their disabilities even though they are unable to hear. Being misunderstood is the biggest reason why they are not accepted in the world of hearing. The learning process for them may be slower and more difficult to learn, but they are still very bright individuals. The problem at hand is the controversy of trying to “fix” the Deaf when they may or may not want to be “fixed”. The hearing world should give Deaf people a chance to show their true talents and abilities of intelligence before rushing to assumptions, such as hearing aids will fix all Deaf people, because Deaf are dumb, have social problems, and
I attended the BOCES Program for the Hearing Impaired for eleven years. I initially liked BOCES but later grew to dislike this program. The teachers often made me feel incapable of doing what the "normal kids" were doing. I wanted to do more challenging things! I remember that one time I asked one of my teachers if I could take a Spanish class. Her reply was "NO!". She didn't think I could handle it because I had a hearing loss. I was persistent and took the class anyway. I did very well. I proved her wrong. But above all, I proved to myself that if I wanted something enough, I could do it. It was a great feeling!
I went to the ice cream social and invited my cousin who's deaf, she lives in Turlock and her name is Nery. Her boyfriend, Robby, wanted to come along but he got busy cutting hair, he's a barber. I mention him because he is also deaf. He's been using a hearing aid since he was small and took therapy sessions as well which makes it seem like he's hearing. He does say his words a bit cut off but we still are able to understand him. He's always laughing and being very sarcastic. My cousin Mary on the other hand is not able to speak. A little background about her: she was born in Mexico and when they moved to California that's when my aunt, Amalia, and uncle, Jose, put her in a school for deaf people. She was later transferred to high school where she
This past month, I’ve attended my first two deaf events. In the beginning I was a little uncomfortable, with my limited ASL knowledge. I enjoyed being amongst so many who knew how to sign. I also enjoyed watching the interpreter during the church service. In my observations, I learned a great deal of deaf culture.
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see” – Mark Twain.
I realize that it is ironic that I, of all people, am taking classes in American Sign Language and am a CSD major. Devoting my future to working with people who have communication and hearing disorders is more than likely going to present a unique challenge to myself due to my low vision, but I have
...old, Johnson. (2004). U.S. Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs: A Look at the Present and a Vision for the Future. American Annals of Deaf, 149, 75-91.
The disparity between the Deaf and hearing is based around ableism, or a newer notion, Audism. Audism is the notion that those that can hear are superior. (Oberholtzer, 2009) Like most that are viewed as inferior, the Deaf are often looked at as lesser compared to those of the hearing community and labeled as disabled, even if they themselves do not view their deafness as a disability. Many of Deaf community members are able to hear and speak well enough to communicate with hearing people but still chose to identify with the Deaf community rather than in the hearing world. (Harlan, 1996) One’s involvement does not center around their hearing
Do you feel like there is a disconnect between both Deaf world and hearing world? (Briefly Explain)
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.
The Deaf event I attended was the DEAFestival. This festival took place at the Los Angeles City Hall on October 3rd at 12:00pm. I specifically attended this event because I felt I would be much more comfortable at a larger gathering with more space and people rather than a small one such as Starbucks. Since the festival was greatly occupied I had more time to observe, take everything in slowly, and prepare myself. To say the least, I was extremely nervous. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I was genuinely that apprehensive. The cause of my anxiety was I because didn’t want to embarrass myself and I especially didn’t want to offend anyone. There were so many things going through my head. I stood to the side and repeated everything I knew about Deaf culture and American Sign Language in my head. Nonetheless, after several conversations with deaf individuals I felt marvelous. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I anticipated. The people I had the privilege of communicating with were very
Throughout high school and during my undergraduate studies, education was never a top priority for me. Only during the past two years, in the "real world", have I realized the importance of education. I look back at those years and wish I had done more and realized all the potential I had in my hands and not wasted so much time. During my undergraduate career my social activities consumed my life. My friends were not motivated to do well in school so I followed their lead. My grades were low, and I did not even care. After I graduated in 1997 with a Psychology B.A. and lost touch with my old friends and old ways, I have realized that I should have spent more time doing some soul searching and thinking what it was that I wanted to do with my life. I liked Psychology but what I really wanted to do was work with children more closely. I had spent my junior and senior years involved in internships at Head Start and at a High School in a Program for teenaged mothers. I loved my work there. At Head Start I was a Teacher Aid for the pre-school, teaching the children to read, numbers etc. And at the High School I counseled the teenaged mothers, took care of their kids while they went to school and after the school day I tutored them with their homework. After being out of school for a while, I started to miss that. The feeling that I was teaching something those kids, the feeling that I was making a difference. I was determined to find a job in education, with my background in Psychology, how hard could it be? I found work at a residential school for runaways and abused teenaged females. It was great! I was ready to go, I was going to change the world and change those girls lives. What I didn't realize is that will alone does not make me a teacher and that I needed training, a lot of training. I made a lot of mistakes in that job. I got discouraged and decided to forget about working with children, forget teaching and do something else that paid more. So, I got a job as a Secretary, I did that for about two years. Teaching, working with children was always on my mind.
The search for the most effective way to educate deaf students has long been filled with controversy, due to strong advocacy for conflicting approaches. The bilingual model of deaf education has been in place in many schools for the deaf for the past 20 years (Drasgow, 1998), and while many advocates of a strictly oral approach to deaf education discount its success, it is still a viable and appropriate option for deaf students with severe to profound hearing loss. In this paper I will describe historical perspectives around deaf education and discuss hearing loss and language acquisition for deaf children. I will provide justification for the continued use of the bilingual model against arguments in favour of a strictly oral approach. In addition, l will address challenges inherent to the bilingual model and conclude with suggested changes that may benefit deaf students’ language learning and literacy outcomes.
Imagine seeing people speaking, moving their mouths and not being able to hear anything. Welcome to the world of deafness. The journey for someone who is deaf can be challenging, but those challenges can be overcome with perseverance. Today I am going to share with you the story of my journey with deafness and see that if I am my disability. It is an experience that has shaped my life through body, mind, and spiritual matter.